ProductiveMuslim Sleep Routine

If you’ve started waking up early and working in those early hours of the day as we recommend at ProductiveMuslim.com, you’ll find that it’s pretty hard to be consistent each and every day with this routine. And when you search for the reasons for this inconsistency, you’ll realise that it’s mainly because it’s hard to regulate your sleep; one day you sleep well, so you wake up early and can work hard. Other days, you don’t sleep so well and those early hours are pretty difficult to maintain.

Sleep, as any other activity we do as humans, can be optimized by planning well in advance and following a particular routine each night. You might think: “Dude, I just crash and sleep”. Well, that’s one way of doing it, but here’s another routine. Try it out and tell me if sleep doesn’t become a rewarding, spiritual and fulfilling experience for you after this.

The following sleep routine requires you to prepare for it at least 90 minutes BEFORE you actually sleep. And it’s basically dividing those 90 minutes into 3 parts:

One third for Your Lord

One third for Your Self

One third for Your Sleep

1. One third for Your Lord:

This starts with you making wudhu, brushing your teeth, putting on nice clothes and perfume and praying Tahajjud and Witr for Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) (Note: If you prefer to wake up before Fajr to pray these night prayers then definitely go with that. However, if you can’t trust yourself to wake up that early, it’s better that you pray Tahajjud and Witr Salah BEFORE you sleep). This is my favourite part of the sleep routine and favourite part of the day!

It’s such a calming experience after going through a long hard day, to stand in front of your Lord, recite His verses, supplicate to Him and ask Him of whatever you desire in this world and the Next. Do this for a couple of nights and you wouldn’t want to give up doing it! In fact, throughout your day, you’ll be anticipating this moment and looking forward to it!

2. One third for Your Self:

This is where you prepare yourself for sleep by putting on your pyjamas, getting into bed and reading a good book for at least 30 minutes. If you’re like me, ideas and thoughts will keep popping into your head as you read, and you will want to save them for later. For these, I have a plain notebook and pen/pencil next to me to scribble anything (and I mean anything) that pops in my head! You’ll be surprised how many great ideas originate from these 30 minutes.

Alternatively, instead of reading, you may spend these 30 minutes brainstorming on a plain notebook any ideas,plans, and projects you have in mind. You don’t have to come up with the ‘perfect’ idea/solution, but simply brainstorm as much as you can then literally “sleep on it” (as the saying goes). In the morning, you’ll be surprised at what your sub-conscious mind brings forth for you.

3. One third for Your Sleep:

I’ve said that this is a third for your sleep, but truly this is a third for your Lord to bless your sleep, and basically this involves going through the duas and verses that one should recite before sleeping as per the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These include reciting Surah Al-Mulk and Surah Al-Sajdah and other supplications recommended before sleeping. For me, this last part of the routine is like the cherry on top of the cake! Nothing fills you with more tranquility than to sleep having uttered the words of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala).

So there you have it, the ProductiveMuslim routine for Sleep. You may think it’s lengthy, but there has been no day that I’ve followed it, except that I’ve slept peacefully and woken up peacefully.

Hope it works well for you and that you have a productive sleep – Sweet dreams!

130 thoughts on “ProductiveMuslim Sleep Routine”

alhamdullillah! thank u so much! lately i’ve been troubled by my sleep cycle! 1 think most of us know about that 3 part of night but ur explanation & suggestions…i never thought that way before…insya allah, i’ll do it tonight! thank u again!

Salam an interesting concept although i have recently been trying out a new method of waking up early and all though its very early days it seems to be working well

Being muslims we should add to this by obviously making ibadah before we sleep as you suggested and i can take a lot from you article since often when its after isha salaat im at a loss as to what to do i wish to do some sort of small routine but its usually not very organised so often i can end up wasting my time; but your suggestion of deviding the nights into 3 is intrigiging although

I would change things about a little by not undertaking any reading in bed or doing any notes or brain storming i use to do this before and this is often what lead me to sleeping late at night- the bed only serves one real purpose sleep so we should view it as a recharging station.

Reason I brainstorm before sleeping is to get whatever I have on my mind ‘off’ my mind and onto paper, and also to get my unconscious mind working on some of the brainstormed ideas whilst I’m sleeping..

regarding exercise before sleep, not sure, i’ve heard that you shouldn’t exercise before sleep as that’ll get you super energetic and unable to sleep, instead one should perform ‘meditative’ exercises, and isn’t that what Salah is?

Now inshallah when are u going to write the antithesis of this article and give us advice on a sound morning routine that gets our day off to the best start .

Currently im trying to wake up for fajr by myself using the technique i linked on my last comment and i try to hifd 10 ayas a day although often i start late or delay it and after completing the activity i sometimes waste my time not waste it in a sence but i just end up watching quran videos on you tube or surfing the net any advice Akhi and other helpful tips you could offer.

this was great, i’ll follow this during ramadan insha’Allah as i have a very bad sleeping routine and often end up wasting time and going to be too late. however, i was wondering when are you going to launch your site? before ramadan or IN ramadan?

I have two questions, if you don't mind.First, what's exactly Tahajjur prayer?! Is it tarawih or just night prayer?!

Second, this really worries me. You know, it's recommended we sleep 7 or 8 complete hours for a healthy body and mind, but morning prayer splits it into two ! I mean, I'll have to sleep forl ike 4 hours, then wake up for morning prayer, and then sleep again!Sometimes this causes me headache or I feel like I haven't been sleeping well.During school time I sleep at 12.00am, I cannot sleep earlier and to be quite honest, I don't want to!So, do you have any suggestions for that?!I do really need help.

Regarding your first question: loosely defined, tahajjud and 'qiyam-al-layl' can be considered one. Any voluntary prayer after Maghreb all the way till Fajr is counted as part of your 'night prayer' or 'tahajjud'. (Some scholars define tahajjud as the night prayer in the last third of the night).

Your body wants to relax, have 8 hours sleep, eat well and enjoy itself. Your soul wants to pray, fast and stay closer to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala). As you can imagine, it's very hard to satisfy both, so you have to think and decide who you should aim to please. (Answer: the soul! As that will enter you in Jannah!).

I'm not saying that you should spend all night in prayer! As your body has a right over you and you should take care of it.

Let's get practical: You should aim to have enough sleep at night so your body is not completely tired during the day. So it's VERY important that you sleep early (immediately after isha prayers). If you sleep late and expect to wake up early and fresh, it's going to be very difficult for you.

Finally, your body is very adaptable. I know many people who have a healthy life sleeping an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes sleep. However, if you're concerned about your health and sleep pattern, I would suggest you visit a doctor, as medical conditions are important to take note of.

@Amna – it’s hard to explain, but I’ve always believed that if you give time to Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala), Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) will give you time back and bless your studies & time inshaAllah. Trust me, it works! Just be sincere and work hard inshaAllah.

I definitely agree with you especially since it happened to me. Exams and uni work are important but whe I give time to Allah, to read Quran or to learn more about the deen I don’t feel streesed, I feel that I will do all I am able and that Allah will help me. Things go better for me this way.

And Jazaka Allahu Khairan for this article, it’s so helpful! And I’m now going ro read the morning routine article :)

Ukhti, what you need is a taskinator! You can find that on productivemuslim site. InshaAllah, time can be managed in a way where you will be able to do this but well not 90 minutes though, 20-30 minutes (this is the best I can offer with all my workload as an electrical engineering student. =))

what a great follow up – subhanallah! I have been implementing this routine and I have to say it is so amazing, really the small changes make the big difference if you can keep up with them, i feel off track but got back on it again. You do get attached to it rather quickly, knowing that you are struggling to get up solely for the sake of Allah swt brings happiness to the soul, its like climbing a mountain, the struggle to the top is difficult but the view at the top is amazing! Duas to everyone trying to adopt this way of life, just think we are following the footseps of the prophet pbuh by doing so.

i have so much trouble memorising the quran as well as reading salah on time astagfirulah , but i will definitely try this technique to help me insha’allah. and could you please give me some tips for memorising the quran please.. arabic is not my first language and have difficulty going to the mosque?
jazakallah x

I just wanted to say how absolutely amazing this routine is. I am so glad Allah opened the doors for me to get to this article because ever since i have employed this routine, I have not missed Fajr. Instead of a better way to sleep, I feel like it is more so an infallible way to wake up for Fajr. I rarely woke up for Fajr before, Astagfarullah, May Allah have mercy on me, but ever since I have started using this routine, I haven’t missed Fajr since, Alhamdullilah!

Instead of Step 2, I watch a good Islamic lecture or read some Hadiths.
Thank you so much for this, May Allah bless all the ProductiveMuslim team and their families with Jannah! :)

Asalaamu alaikum Sis!
That Was done by The prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him )
After waking up In the Middle of the Night, A Litte before it or a Little After It, Its In Sahih Buhkari! You Can Check It In http://www.Sunnah.com !

Assalam. I have a question. From what i learn tahajjud is doing after you get some sleep. But from what understand what u write here, u perform tahajjud before sleep. Can u give some dalil (alquran/hadith) for this?

Assalam. I have a question. From what i learn tahajjud is doing after you get some sleep. But from what understand what u write here, u perform tahajjud before sleep. Can u give some dalil (alquran/hadith) for this?

Very simple, just think that you have to return back to your lord one day and you will have to leave every thing one day. Your love ones will one day take you and leave you in the grave one day and return bacj home. And then it will be you and your Allah with your Ammals protecting you if you have prayed all your prayers in time. May Allah guide us all and give us Hidayat to be 0n Right Path, AMEEN.

i think the second part of the sleep routine is very very important as well. for the sanity of the self. sometimes if one is always giving giving, you start to forget about the rights that the self has on itself, subhanAllah. and if we maintain the right intentions (I am giving myself the rights of myself), it could be a form of ibaadah (worship).

your programme is no doubt beneficial. however i was hoping you would rather give us some practical tips on how we , as a very busy society, can regulate our lives such that we can get to bed early,or as early as after esha. this is the real challenge.many of us are really just guilty of wasting time doing useless things. if we do then defnitley we wont be able to rise fresh and eager for fajr[or at all !] the trick is to plan your evenings right from maghrib onwards.[preparations for fajr really start here!] how to avoid time wasting things and achieve more or less a structured nightly programme,this is the secret..may ALLAH SWT help us in all our endeavours

Thank you for the article. I was enthused by the title, but then I had to re-read it several times to make sure i got the recommendations. So, 90 minutes, out of which only 30 for Tahajjud?! Surely not! Productive Muslims ahoy! Not 30 minutes Tahajjud – surely not! I know you’re trying to make things easier for people, but death is just around the corner, and you’ll get plenty of sleep then! “Ya Yahya Khuth alKitab bi-Quwwah” (Take what’s given to you in the Book with strength and will) (Maryam:12). How about a third of your WHOLE night for Tahajjud! and we havent’ even started with prophet Dawud’s Tahajjud routine yet! Personally, I cannot imagine so much sleep as you’ve suggested in your plan. A productive Muslim is a beacon of strength. Try this routine, no.. sorry… correction, do not try it… take it with STRENGTH & WILL TO SUCCEED, and inshaaAllah you will: sleep after Athkar, etc, IMMEDIATELY after Isha (as the Prophet alyh alSalah walSalam did), then wake up either (a) at midnight, tahajjud for one third of the night hours, then sleep a little before Fajr, which is prophet Dawud’s tahajjud (Bukhari & Muslim), or (b) one third before night ends wake up for Tahajjud and continue up until Fajr. (a) gives enough time for 11 Ruk’ah Tahajjud & two Juz’ quran plus huge amounts of energy for the day, and is most loved by Allah Sobhanoh (Bukhari & Muslim), but needs strict compliance – sleep immediately after Isha. (b) most people can accommodate it because they sleep more. Two things to maintain: (1) 33 SubhanAllah 33 alHamduliLLah 34 Allah Akbar in bed just before you sleep (Bukhari & Muslim) = as if there is another one of you doing the work with you (in the Hadeeth “better for your than a servant”) , also (2) Qayloolah (siesta) anything 5-30 minutes anytime before Thuhr (best) or just after it (Omar bin alKhattab Radi Allah Anh is said to have committed to this even if it was just lying down to rest – without the sleep)- these two Sunnahs could be must-do’s for your Tahajjud to last you years, not days! … and before anyone thinks it… Yes, i am a professional, architect, site administrator, etc. ie could possibly qualify as a semi-productive Muslim – Allah Subhanoh only knows! Allahum Baarik ! My advice: “the Strong Mu’min is better and more loved by Allah Subhanoh than the week Mu’min, and in both there is good” (Sahih Muslim). Don’t be a weakling: go for POWER TAHAJJUD – remember it’s a race to alFirdaws! May Allah be with you all and accept your Tahajjud – be it 30 minutes or a third of all minutes!

Assalamualaikum I understand you are a young muslim brother full of energy, and if you are capable of doing so then by all means do it but for most of us we still need to develop consistency. verily the best deeds are the ones which are consistent even if they are small. But inshaAllahulaziz we are able to reach the level you have described.Salam

Masha Allah a very great plan, brother ! However, allow me to say that the average muslim may not start off according to the plan you’ve presented; the best way is to start slowly and build up one’s way to that routine insha Allah. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to start the way you’ve suggested, instead I think it would be best if one worked towards it insha Allah…
عَنْ أَبِى هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه عَنِ النَّبِىِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ :( إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ ، وَلَنْ يُشَادَّ الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ غَلَبَهُ ، فَسَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا ، وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالْغَدْوَةِ وَالرَّوْحَةِ وَشَىْءٍ مِنَ الدُّلْجَةِ ) رواه البخاري (39) ومسلم (2816)

Best sleeping tips ever – I had insomnia for years making me so unproductive and weak. These tips really worked out. I googled many sleeping tips and routines but only this one actually worked out . Thanks a lot brother May Allah bless you always. Keep sharing the good work i am sharing it on my blog too

it is brilliant ,though sometimes I just crash on bed after along day of work and study ,but it’s so useful when you think about it as a way to stop your worries from brainstorming yourself and waste these ours in revising your lif drama .

To perform tahajjud is you have at least sleep for 5 minutes at night before you can do it. Not just by simply after day work, then after dinner, bath, maghrib, isya’ and then directly go for tahajjud. You must know the details/condition/time before doing something! I afraid if people misjudge what you write!

Jazakallah. Nice tips. I follow the concept of doing some things before going to sleep every day, but I never organized them into compartments like these. I realize that they do fit into these headings, though.

Masha Allah and Alhamdulillaah this is very usefull. But I have problem wd have a nap. i always do this activity but until 3 hours? indeed this is not good and not productive as a muslim, so please I need ur help. Jazakmullah Khayran katsiran ;)

If this motivates people towards Allah then it’s better to do something than nothing.
I think the bro above needs to calm down n stop lashing out…it’s good to do as much as you do, but for some of us it’s not possible.

Salam alaikum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatuhu, jazakhAllah kheir for this very good article! But what do you do when Isha is past 10 pm and Fajr is at 3.20 am and you have to get up at 5/6 am to go to work? If you have any suggestion then pls share because as a revert I really don’t know how to handle that small amount of time at night in the most suffiant way! BarakAllah feek! Salam alaikum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatuhu

Any advices for me. I live in Finland,north Europe. Time for Maghrib is 10.45pm and isha around 11.15 pm and Fajr 1.42. Iam fasting right now 4-7 days per week, because of pregnancy and breastfeeding I have many days to fast before ramadan. I would really want to wake up at fajr and stay up but it’s really impossible right now. We are now having the summer holidays so I must get up because of my children between 8-10 am. So the problem is not too little sleep but rather when to sleep and when to spend time with husband who doesn’t live with me every day anyway.

I really love your article. I’d love to do the stuff the way you wrote but unfortunately my husband can’t sleep when the lights are on, even a tiny light by my bedside. I just lay around wandering off in my thoughts and can’t sleep until 3-4am. Sometimes I go back to the living room and have a tea, but it rarely works :)

ALhamdulilaah, Good one, I think if we add the Self retrospection to the 2nd 30 min of self then in sha Allaah we can see miracles in our own behavior and character. This is a very good technique of knowing what went right and what went wrong the entire day.The fact that we are able to go thru the situation again in our mind will help us to be more cognitive to the similar situation in future and help us with a better RESPONSE than just REACT to it.

Thank you so much for the tips…alhamdulillah, u really did a lots of effort to make sure that we worship to Allah s.w.t & surprisingly I just read this article on 2013! After a long lost on how should I sleep well. This is really amazing! & I also got bumped into your morning routine article, wow…I should have read all your tips long ago so that I can maintain to be a productive Muslim. :D insyaAllah, thank you very much! May Allah bless you…do pray for me on becoming a true Muslim doctor…Ameen. :)

There is so much truth in having a balanced sleeping pattern! Great article!

I have always been an early sleeper and an early morning bird! It helps to get chores done early in the morning so you have the rest of the day for your family and self.

However, things drastically changed when I got married, since a pretty late-sleeping routine was followed at my in-laws. For the first time I started sleeping late and realised that my productivity at work and personal life was really poor! Gradually, as the new-life adjustment phase passed by, I got my routine back in place (not to perfection, but its improving!) and once again I see how I can manage to complete household chores on time, stay fresh, feel healthier and emotionally more stable.

Things are once again taking their toll as I am pregnant now. And aren’t able to sleep well at night with all the changes. But perhaps this is just the sacrifice that mothers go through to get the high status that Islam has in store for them!

Perhaps you can have some articles covering the challenges for ladies like myself, going through such changes in life – of marriage and kids.

Confession – I owe my sleeping routine to my mother. Who always ensured discipline in this regard from a very young age; without any exceptions! We never understood the reasons for not letting us have a quick nap after maghrib or making us go straight to bed after isha. But today, I am so thankful for her strictness! A message to all parents – what you set up today as their routine, will go a very long way!

JazakAllah for the helpful tips…jus 1 query. ..when we go to sleep after Isha namaz and then wake up to pray..that is Tahajud prayers right?…so are we suppose to do this 90min productive thing after isha? Bit then the Tahajud prayers are missed?

very good post.tanx.i have a question for which i m seeking answers throughout last months.please explain me about the issues of watching television in islam.there are many islamic programmes and programmes related to studies,but they have a background or theme music.i have heard that music is haram in islam.then is it ok to watch those programmes? Please help me to confirm what i can watch in television.tanx.

i am someone work shift and study another shift i require recommendation about my life so
i want to divide my routine daily activities i meen how much time is good to seap, how many hours is availble to suplicate and pray i mean in my life how many hour is good to spend to Allah

I think 5-6 hours sleep will be enough. someone may feel fatigue during the daytime. But remember we can manage those conditions; Insha Allah, we have plenty of foods and other nutritious drinks. we must go for it. You need more calories. Find & eat those foods. when you got up for Fajr, drink coffee. it will adjust your body. and after Fajr don’t go for sleep. Try to do some activities such as exercises (Stretching your body would be a good option on that time) Alhmadulliah.. One cannot adjust to this immediately. Insha Allah you can.. with the help of you family memeber you will immediately learn.

I really need to start praying again I started with just maghrib & isha only but have since given up totally. I haven’t prayed fajr since before Ramadan but the thing is I take a combined antidepressant & sleeping tablet that I take around 9.30/10pm so it will be very difficult for me to get up. Not sure what I can do coz I really need to take this medication to get better

Assalam-o-Alaikum! Brother,I loved the article but i have a few problems.i would be highly grateful if you could help me. Firstly i am a school student and my schedule is tough. I get so much work to do that sometimes i sleep at 2 or 3 in the morning though i am sure i waste a lot of time. If i do my work quickly and early,i would be able to sleep early yet…Anyways give me some advice on this how to manage it and wake up for fajr and tahujud. Secondly i sleep a lot.I just can’t resist my sleep. What should i do?

3. As for time management, again, knowing what time means to us as Muslims will help you change perspectives about how you use it and will provide you the motivation to better utilize it, ins ha Allah. We’ve got several articles on this that I hope you’ll find helpful:

I appreciate your trust in us to answer your question. Unfortunately we cannot comment on that specific question as we are not equipped in fiqh-related (jurisprudential) issues. I advise you to consult an authentic scholar of Islamic jurisprudence who’d best be able to answer your question.
In case you may not know of one, you may alternatively consult authentic fiqh Q&A websites such as:

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